Is Adoption a Risk Factor for the Development of Adjustment Problems?

The extent to which being adopted increases a child's risk for the development of adjustment problems has been debated for decades. Results from studies examining prevalence of adopted children and adolescents in outpatient and inpatient mental health treatment suggest that the risk associated with adoption is modest or nonexistent. This body of research is reviewed and critiqued. Two possible explanations for the apparent disparate findings of the clinically based and nonclinically based studies are explored: biases in referral for mental health treatment and the influence of the shape of the distribution of adjustment problems in the adopted and nonadopted populations. Implications for clinical practice and future research are explored.